Categories
Articles

Make God Great Again!

The title for this post is misleading in that God is great whether we as humans acknowledge his greatness or not. This title could also lead mislead people to think I am equating the re-election of President Donald Trump as making God great again, or even worse equating Trump as God. I am doing neither. I am simply stating the need for a spiritual awaking in our country. “Woke” has become the new word of the day. I prefer to use the word in a different way in this post. God’s church needs to wake up and make God great again!

In my last post, I spoke some on the reality of heaven to come. This past week, President Trump said that “If Joe Biden gets elected, the whole country would go to hell. And we’re not going to let it go to hell.” Theologically speaking, Trump is dead wrong. Are there hellish things happening on this earth and specifically in America? Certainly. But, we need to distinguish between what we often call “hell on earth” and hell.

I prefer not to use the word “hell” unless I am talking about the real place the Bible refers to as hell. No matter your stance on the word, you should never use the word in passing or as a way to express your anger. Hell is nothing less than eternal death in an eternal place. Physical death on earth happens to us all in a moment, though our suffering before death may last much longer. But eternal death is different. Eternal death is a state of death that you live in forever, not just a moment. I can’t explain what that looks like. I am not like some who claim they have travelled to hell and come back. These folks usually write books or make movies and then make money off of their experience. The hell I read about in the Bible is different. If and when you go there, you don’t come back. Not only have you died, you are dead forever.

The church needs to make God great again so that people don’t have to go to hell. We need to tell people that it is bad on earth, but that it doesn’t compare to eternal death because anything that happens here is temporary. Jesus is the Way out of hell and Jesus is the way we can all make it through the current mess we have to endure. Joe Biden is not the answer. Donald Trump is not the answer. Jesus is the answer!

But how will people hear the good news of Jesus if the church doesn’t go and tell? The church has already been commissioned and sent. Jesus is waiting on you. What are you waiting on? Trump always talks about Biden hiding down in his basement and not coming out. I worry that Christians are in their basement just waiting for Jesus to come back and take them home. We always need to be on watch! But rather than waiting in our basements, we need to be working for the Master. Does a certain parable in Scripture come to mind? In a land full of division, God has called you to be a peacemaker. Now, go and make peace! Make God great again!

Categories
Articles

Salvation comes from no other name

America’s dealing with three issues now: the pandemic, the black lives matter global movement, and police inequality which has led to utter lawlessness in some major cities.

For good or evil, the next generation has played a pivotal role in each issue. The one common theme, however, that holds these issues together is the role that politics play in each.

Being that this is an election year, politicians on both sides have unleashed a no holds barred attitude toward each other in order to push their political agendas forward. It plays out more like a WWE Rage in the Cage match rather than a simple fence that separates neighbors. Believe it or not, there was a day where politicians from different parties could disagree with one another on the House and the Senate floor during the day and then go out and enjoy dinner together with one another that very same night . . . this is no longer the case. Politicians have become so polarized in their views that their seems to be no middle ground left.

Thankfully, it has been said that for Christ-followers, our salvation does not come from an elephant or a donkey, but rather a lamb. It should not surprise us that the animosity between Republicans and Democrats have reached a fever pitch. And we should not be blind to all that is happening around us. However, we also know that life’s ultimate answers do not come from government. We know the lamb is also a lion and will one day rule and reign over all governments past and present. Not only will this lion rule over all governments, he will rule over all peoples.

We find this scene in Revelation 7:9-10:

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throneand before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

As you can see, black lives do matter in this account. But so do all other lives! The Lamb of God was sacrificed for all. Though we often distinguish humanity by the color of one’s skin and call this phenomena “race,” there actually is no such thing. In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve and from these two, we all come. We are one, the human race, and we all share the same blood. But, we all also have a sin problem … just look at what’s happening in the world. And for this reason, the Lamb of God was slain. Now, with his blood, our sin is covered and one day, his justice will roll like a river.

Categories
Articles

Conversations Matter

Unlike the news and media, I won’t use this post to preach ad nauseam the difference between a riot and a protest. I think we all know the difference and if we don’t know the difference by now, we need to pull our heads up out of the sand. I have been keenly watching the split-screen action on tv switching back and forth between the riots and the protests. Peaceful protests usually happen in the daytime and are an offshoot of Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of using non-violent means to reform the system and or achieve justice. Unruly riots usually happen when dark falls and are an offshoot of Malcolm X’s philosophy of using violent means to reform the system and or achieve justice. Of course, what makes the protests occurring today different from the protests of the past are the racial diversity that is on display. The crowds makeup is mostly that of young adults, college-aged students, and teenagers of all ethnicities.

The one thing I am hearing over and over is that the peaceful protesters just want to talk. They want guidance from the older generations on how to protest and they want policemen to befriend them, not to block them. After a couple of days of protesting in Atlanta, the next generation said the third day was what made the difference. What was the difference? It came down to one cop, a young white cop who met the protesters at the blockade formed by police. This one cop looked at the protestors and asked them, “What do you want?” The protesters said, “We want to walk.” The cop said, “I’ll walk with you. Let’s go.” And off they went, with the cop leading the pack and talking to protesters all along the way. The protesters claim that rather their mayor or their city’s celebrities yelling at them, they just wanted someone to talk to . . . rather than the cops treating them like criminals, they just wanted to be heard. A lady from the local media’s news channel interviewed the cop and told him that he was being called a hero. The cop’s response was “I’m not a hero.”

At the same time this peaceful protest was happening, rioters were gathered in a different spot with a news camera on them as well. I won’t waste my time talking about the rioters. Those who are peacefully protesting have a just cause and deserve to be heard. But riots should be expected in communities that won’t listen to peaceful protesters. I am certainly not advocating riots, only stating that they are often the end results for people who over a long period of time feel their voice has not been heard.

Here is what we as communities need to acknowledge: George Floyd and many other men of color should not have died at the hands of police and that justice should be served. I am not saying these men of color were all completely innocent. The underreported side of these encounters usually do tell a side where a minor crime was committed, arrest was resisted, and authority was undermined. None of these are good things, however in most of the cases made public, the actions of the cop do not fit the nature of the crime. For example, you don’t kill someone for stealing a candy bar.

I have long been a proponent of churches and communities hosting racial reconciliation roundtables. We need to be able to sit down at the table with others who look and talk differently than we do and have a civil conversation. I think we all have a lot to learn. But what I am learning in this latest episode is that we need to have next generation roundtables. We need to get the generations together, of all colors, to sit down and talk about what is happening and why it is happening. Where is the next generation coming from and why are they so passionate about what they believe? What have older generations gone through and what guidance can they offer the next generation fighting their own causes? These conversations need to happen and they need to begin happening now. This is where healing begins.

Categories
Articles

Please take time to . . .

. . . talk to the next generation. Last night, Tucker Carlson of Fox News interviewed a father who recently lost his son. I’ll spare the details as the video speaks for itself. I will say, however, that watching the video was a gut-wrenching experience for me and that the video should serve as a sobering reminder to us all of what is really important in life; life itself. With Covid-19 and the ongoing Minneapolis, MN riots, there is a lot happening in our world and nation. Let’s not forget what is also happening to many in the next generation.

Categories
Articles

Drilling down

In yesterday’s post, I scratched the surface in discussing some of the many benefits brought on by Covid-19. Today, I want to drill down deep into one particular benefit: digital discipleship and how it has been fast-tracked.

Let me begin by stating some generalities about the virus’s impact. For many, this initial interruption in life stirred some excitement because it was something new, but now this long-term disruption has turned those same feelings into angst. We are all grieving somewhat because we have all experienced a sense of loss knowing that things will never be the same. Many people are feeling anxious in mind, isolated in home, and uncertain about their future. People are evaluating their lifestyles and asking themselves what they can do with and what they can do without. People are having to constantly evaluate their life choices as their lives are being daily transformed. This is causing many people, Christian and non-Christian alike, to seek answers out by reading their Bible and by praying more. People are doing one of two things during this crisis: They are leaning into God and into their church or they are checking out on God and checking out on their church. Taking off from church or hanging back on God is not the way to go, even if you say you are just waiting for things to return to normal. This is because life moves on. It’s kind of like waiting for the Lord Jesus to return. You know he is coming back but it doesn’t give you permission to sit idle.

Covid-19 has gotten us all out of the status quo. It has forced us to become comfortable with the uncomfortable because we can’t control the uncontrollable’s. Before Covid-19, I had heard about virtual small groups or what many would call digital discipleship groups, but I wasn’t promoting the idea because quite honestly, it wasn’t my preference. In a pre-Covid-19 world, I would opt for having in-person discipleship any day over having digital small groups. I knew many young people preferred to meet online and many wouldn’t come to church until there was some kind of online engagement, but in some ways, I felt this was cop-out and in other ways, I just didn’t want to meet them where they were. You could just as well say I didn’t want the world to go in that digital direction. But in a post-Covid-19 world, there’s no turning back and my preferences on this matter don’t mean a thing.

Social media must be used as a tool for discipleship and engagement. Techies are learning just as much as we are in these times. Zoom will get even better with the interactive experience they provide us. Facebook now offers messenger rooms for up to 50 people to meet via video. These type of companies are just scratching the surface as their efforts to upgrade have been accelerated just as much as has our changing behaviors. We had to do something different than we were doing to reach the next generation because we weren’t reaching them where they were.

Churches are now seizing the moment, the 168, meaning the 168 hours in a week to minister to people. Sunday morning or Wednesday night aren’t the only things that matter and they never should have been. Churches should be open 24/7 to minister to a hurting community, and not just its own members. And yes, a lot of this ministry does occur online. Digital technology should assist us in our incarnational ministry, but it should never replace it. For example, once churches re-open, youth should still meet in-person, but a lot of the Zoom meetings and TicTok videos are going to continue. And shouldn’t they, if that’s where the next generation is spending hours upon hours every day?

Having established the fact that I now embrace digital discipleship, let me share with you some findings about how the next generation is viewing ministry in a post-Covid-19 world. If you are a bit older like me, this may be hard for you to understand, but the next generation is not experiencing Covid-19 in the same way that you and I are. Gen Z has grown up in a world of active shooters, international terrorism, and cyber predators. They have had to learn how to live and think about things in a radically different way than we did. For example, Gen Z can never remember a time where going to school, airports, etc. wasn’t safe. Whereas Covid-19 has forced many of us magnify the topics of safety and health, the next generation has always been concerned about their own safety and health. And as I have written previously, all of this has turned Gen Z into a resilient bunch, particularly the class of 2020, as I believe they will forever go down as the face of Gen Z.

The next generation is still in school and many are facing screen fatigue. By the time they have watched countless classroom videos and engaged in all of their social media and frequented websites, many are putting church on the back-burner. In the last 4 weeks, only 33% have livestreamed a Sunday morning worship service and 63% say they have not livestreamed their church or another church’s worship service. This is what I meant when I said “checking out” or “taking off.” If families can go to church together, I don’t see why they can’t go to church in their home together.

With all of the screen time that the next generation is logging, they have their own preferences. They see right through virtual recorded polished presentations and prefer that which is live and in the moment (remember TikToc). Gen Z prefers engagement over streamed content. In Barna’s free webcast yesterday on the state of the church (where I’m getting most of my information for this post), it was said, “For the longest time, it was thought ‘content is king,’ but now whereas content was king, ‘engagement is emperor.'” All this to say that offering the next gen an online experience is not enough. We must find ways to connect with them in a meaningful way. Of course, this is where digital discipleship comes into play.

Gen Z, also known as the Connected Generation, feels the impact of broad, global trends more than they feel loved and supported by others close to them. What this statement means is that we often think the next generation is doing well because they are young. But the research points out that of all the generations, Gen Z is the most lonely, board, and insecure. We struggle to empathize with their plight because we can’t see beneath the surface of what is happening inside of them beyond all of their “friendships” and screen time. This disruption is occurring at a very vulnerable moment in their life and as things are so fragile that Gen Z is having to develop many new friendships.

So you may say thanks for sharing, but ask, well, what does Gen Z want out of me? Good question! I hope that is why you are visiting this site. Gen Z wants you as a next gen leader to be visible, to be there for them. They need your prayer and emotional support. They want to share with you their stories and they want to engage in Bible study, not merely listen to what you have to say. This is what they need most right now from you! Engage, ask questions, and understand that what you see on the outside may be the wrong story. You may think they are doing great and discover they are not or you may think they are doing terrible and discover they are doing great. This is exactly why you should engage and ask questions. And remember its not just what the next gen needs from us. It’s what we, the church, need from them. We need their imagination and their know-how in how to navigate this new digital reality as it pertains to digital discipleship.

Categories
Articles

Virtual or Reality? Balance is key.

There is no doubt that Covid-19 has caused a lot of devastation and that its path of destruction is not over. However, there are many perks or positives that have also come out of Covid-19. When a global pandemic hits which interrupts all of our lives, I think we have to step back and ask God what is he up to. It’s not that God has caused the pandemic, but we must understand that he has certainly allowed it to happen.

I don’t like it when people lose their jobs, their teams, their life, but perhaps these are just the moments that God is calling one into a new career, a new path, a new course. Maybe we didn’t need the excess after all. It is very painful if you are say a baseball player at the University of Furman who was just told that your team’s program has been cut by your college. This represents a great case example in showing how Covid-19 is so much more than a medical issue. It’s an economic issue, a mental health issue, a political issue, a sports and entertainment issue, a business issue, a family issue, a church issue, a media issue, etc. The virus’s impact is far-reaching and its damage is mass.

In previous posts, I have already mentioned some of the bright sides of Covid-19. It’s great when families get to spend more time together, when sons and daughters learn the family trade, when young people learn how to sew, cook, garden, plant, and the list goes on. But, what about the church? What are the benefits of Covid-19 on church life as it relates to the next generation? Especially at a time when the next generation is told to stay at home and to stay away from church? If you have teenagers, you know what I am talking about. Teens don’t want to stay at home because they want to be out with their friends, whether that’s at church, school, or some other third place.

I can only speak from a digital point of view. Gen Z lives and breathes in a world of social media and technology. For far too long, the church has lagged behind in keeping up with, but more importantly reaching the next generation on their own turf. In other words, before Covid-19, many churches were irrelevant when it came to the next generation because they had no online presence and couldn’t communicate in the same way that the next generation communicates with one another. At the rate churches were going, most would have become obsolete.

But Covid-19, and I like to think God through this pandemic, has forced churches to catch up to the culture that surrounds it. It’s nearly impossible for the church to fulfill the mission God has given it if it cannot communicate, much less make sense to the community and culture they are trying to reach. Missionaries have to speak the natives’ language and in the church’s case, as it relates to the next generation and the world at large, the church has to be able to speak the digital natives’ language. A famous ministry leader has recently quipped that he believes churches will soon be saying, “we’re an online church with physical and local locations.”

Do you see what this ministry leader is really saying? He is putting the virtual before the real. Not that virtual isn’t real. Virtual is very real to the next generation and in this context, is probably more real than that which appears to be a physical church building. None the less, I am not a fan of this statement and not because the statement doesn’t contain some truth. Let me explain. I don’t think we have to argue which comes first. It’s like the chicken and egg argument. Does it really matter? When you’re ministering to the world as you have been called to in the Great Commission, ministering in-person and online are both vital.

This is similar to asking if the church is to be primarily ministering locally or globally. The answer is Yes. The church is to be ministering glocally! Virtual reality is real and the point of this post is simply to state that I believe God has used the pandemic to help the universal Church “get it.” Real is real and virtual is real. There is no need to debate which should come first. In fact, on the flip side, Covid-19 has helped the next generation learn much about the real world, and how it is a world that doesn’t just operate solely in a virtual reality. For example, manual labor and blue-collar jobs are just as important to society as office work and white-collar jobs. It takes everyone to make this world go around!

Let’s be honest. For too long, I think we Americans have had too much. Too many choices, too many options, too many . . . analysis by paralysis – – – leading us to make no decision because of the dizzying array of colors and flavors constantly at our disposal. I am grateful for these luxuries, but are they all needed? I like to call these extra add-on’s unnecessary fluff. What does this mean for the church? Like sport programs or even certain jobs that are being cut, perhaps there are some ministry programs that need to die. They’re just no longer effective in a post COVID-19 world.

I must give props to Dr. James Emery White of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC. In a pre COVID-19 world, this pastor was already beefing up his online campus (and I don’t mean church website). He was already using online pastors, social media and tech gurus that speak the digital language of the next generation. It is at this point that I must admit that there many aspects of the old normal that I prefer to the new normal. I prefer packed out stadiums, arenas, restaurants, malls, and churches to that of the same kind that are hybrid or half-filled. I prefer not having to wear a mask or social distance. I prefer a handshake or a hug to that of staying six feet away to the next closest person. But I’m learning to put my preferences aside, to do whatever it takes to reach the next generation, and to balance my life by getting in tune with God’s bigger picture. What is God teaching you during these unprecedented times?

Categories
Articles

God before government

In my last post, I talked about how “hybrid church” (physical/digital) is here to stay. I talked about how churches, schools, and businesses are all having to adapt and how I think this new reality is just that: the new hybrid reality. For yet another example, I think many employees will continue to do half of their job at home and will continue to do the other half of their job working out of their office. Trust me. This will be a good thing, especially if you’re a parent and your kids are now having to spend half of their time and home and the other half at school. Neither remote working or distance learning are new concepts. It is just that now, thanks in large part to Covid-19, both phenomenons have been accelerated.

Part of the reason I feel the way I do stems from a quote I read from Scott Gotlieb, former FDA Commissioner. In an article from Advisory Board entitled “How long will social distancing last? It could be years, experts warn.,” Gotlieb says, “I don’t think there’s going to be a binary point in time when we just return to what we were doing. I think world history is permanently altered by this episode.” With each passing day, I tend to agree with Gotlieb. Pandemics are serious and this pandemic has seriously affected life as we know it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are many parts of this “new normal” that I don’t like. But one that I especially do not like is how many government leaders are using this pandemic to advance their political agenda. Our nation was already divided before Covid-19. In my opinion, Covid-19 has done nothing but deepen the cracks. Now, I realize Covid-19 itself is neutral because it is a virus. A virus can certainly harm people and even kill them, but what divides people is not a virus but that which is in the heart of man. Jesus knew this full well when he spoke to the Pharisees about the differences between the inside and the outside of a cup. A gun lying on the ground by itself does no harm. But a human holding a gun with evil intent can do a lot of damage.

It is not my intent to be a pessimist when it comes to talking about the nation I love so much. I mean, the USA is still united in many ways. We have many hard working people and soldiers who sacrifice their lives daily to make this country great and to keep this country free. One good thing about Covid-19 is that it has highlighted how healthcare workers in the form of doctors, nurses, and first responders are true American heroes. Nonetheless, how can we be so united when each state and region operate so differently from one another. Yes, this balance of powers is what makes America great; and states should have autonomy to decide what is best for their state. But, when I look at certain states and various regions, we don’t seem to have much in common.

This mindset has creeped all the way down into amateur athletics. I am hearing about how certain colleges or even conferences may not field a college football team this fall. Again, there is nothing wrong with college Presidents or individual universities deciding that it is best if their universities do not play college football during this pandemic. That autonomy and given freedom to decide is a blessing. But when decisions are being made to advance political agendas and not ultimately because of the welfare of the athlete or the nation, then something bad has gone wrong.

Here is how I feel. God is going to honor states and regions that honor him. There are many good governors, college presidents, commissioners, and the like who are doing everything they can keep America the land of the free and the home of the brave. Unfortunately, there are many others who don’t seem to care if we citizens lose our rights. God is not on their radar. What should we do? We should pray more than ever. Pray for all leaders in authority. Pray for all states. Pray that our country will be united so that God can bless the entire country. Pray for revival and pray for hearts to mend.

What happens in the government does affect churches. But if the church is praying, we should be affecting the government more than it is affecting us.

Categories
Articles

Hybrid Church is here to stay

In my last post, I talked at some extent to what is commonly known as the hybrid homeschool model approach to education. This is the route I think many public schools across our land will end up taking. But hybrid models aren’t only for schools or businesses. They’re also for churches!

Having previously worked in a private school, I became accustomed to teaching via Google classroom and using other technology to educate my students. But at that time, I understood that not everyone wanted to embrace social media or technology. What COVID-19 has done is force many in the older generations to embrace these outlets while forcing many in the younger generations to learn both people and life skills.

The same is true in ministry. Staff who ministered on the platform have had to learn how to minister pastorally. Staff who ministered pastorally have had to learn how to shepherd online. And staff who were the tech experts have had to learn how to educate both platform and pastoral staff and everyone else in between. Data is gold is so is anyone who was an online pastor before the coronavirus hit.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has said that how leaders treat those in their organization now will define their organization’s brand ten years from now. I couldn’t agree more. A pandemic is no reason to stop ministering. Preaching, teaching, small groups, family ministry, discipleship, worship, etc. must go on! Yes, we may have to alter our approach and do ministry in a different way, but if that is what works, it beats the alternative of not working at all.

We can and must go back to doing old school ministry. Remember those cards, phone calls, and signs in the yard. But, we must also do new school ministry or ministry done in a way “that’s never been done like that before.” In times like these, hybrid ministry is the only solution that works. Hybrid church is the only way to go!

Every church and ministry has a plan for how they are going to re-open (or they should if they don’t) and that is a good thing! Let’s just make sure our plans are proactive and not reactive. For example, next gen leaders, you don’t have to wait on your city or county’s board of education to make a decision before you decide what your ministry ought to do. In an optimal world, it should work both ways. The school can learn from the church and the church can learn from the school. Many churches will be up and running before schools are. It just depends on which region of the country you’re in. What I am saying is that in some places, the church bus can be rolling out before the school bus. You don’t always have to wait to see the “big yellow fellow” (the school bus) rolling and students sitting in their classroom desks before thinking it is ok for your students to come back to church and or go out somewhere.

While many summer camps and vacation bible schools have been cancelled, don’t sit and sulk about what could have been. Be innovative. Do now what you always wanted to try. Give it a shot! Who knows – it might just work! There’s no better time than the present. The reward is worth the risk. And find out what else might be out there! Here is one such online opportunity and there are many others. This may just be next gen’s finest hour! When parents become the primary disciple makers of their children and where this Summer becomes “a summer of outreach” to your local community. Who says the hybrid church can’t make a difference?

Categories
Articles

Half-Physical and Half-Digital

Horizon Organic Half & Half

Certainly, there are a lot of unknowns with COVID-19 and the aftermath that will follow. However, one thing I think we all know now is that the world will never be the same. Let’s fast-forward and try to peek into the future. What is it that will be so different?

Let’s say we have gotten past all of the phases and that a vaccine for COVID-19 has been developed. Then what? Can we meet again and pack out restaurants, stadiums, and theaters? Yes, we can, but the question will then be, “Do we want to?”

What COVID-19 has done to the world is speed up the virtual side of reality. The digital side is and has been catching up to the physical side. Before COVID-19, you could already order your groceries online. You could already attend a virtual church. You could already watch most of your sporting events live from within the confines of your own living room. The difference in the future, I think, is that all of these events will have been amped up to make an amazing interactive experience even more breathtaking.

I can see a world that will one day return to normal, but not the same normal we have been used to. I envision a world where people can still sit side-by-side and pack out restaurants, stadiums, and theaters. But, I also see a world where many people will prefer curbside pickup/delivery, attending virtual sporting events that make them feel like they are part of the action on the field, and watching on-demand movies from wherever they want to. Perhaps one day, the virtual does eclipse the physical. But, I don’t think that’s today.

And what about church? It will be the same. Some people will still want to attend their church at the church building, but others will prefer to attend their church digitally. This is the new reality we all have to get used to and the reality that we have to embrace. We must be able to minister at and away from church, both online and offline for the foreseeable future.

At the breath-neck speed and high-pace that America was going before COVID-19, I don’t think the brick & mortar philosophy could have kept up. Take schools, for example. With ever expanding student populations and lower county budgets, it was never going to be financially sustainable to keep building.

I could imagine a scenario playing out like this one for education in the future: Imagine students attending their school buildings the first week of school for two days a week and then completing online work at home for the other three. Then imagine students flip-flopping and going to school three days a week in week two of the school year and then doing online work the other two. Imagine this flip-flop experience happening every week for the remainder of the school year. In this manner, twice the amount of students could be taught while half the amount of buildings would need to go up.

I think this scenario is the same for many industries and sectors. Would you build a stadium that fits 200,000 people, 300,000? This is why you will see more and more people working remotely from home. What we were doing just wasn’t going to be sustainable.

Sure, there are going to be some things we don’t like about our new world. But, we must realize God is in control and is using circumstances for our good (Rom 8:28). Sometimes, less is more. Slowing down is good, family time is good, and learning life skills is good. As Americans, many of us had grown comfortable and become spoiled. Now, some of our fat is being trimmed. We are already hearing about possible food shortages. Sure, we may miss some of our luxuries, but if it causes us to look up more, that can be a good thing. We can learn to depend on God and trust him more. In the same way, we can adapt and become more proficient with our new digital realities and landscape.

Categories
Articles

A Resilient Bunch

I have already written about some of the negative impacts that COVID-19 has had on the class of 2020. But, are there any positives? Sure there are! You’ve likely heard the phrase, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

The truth is COVID-19 can kill young people. However, the percentages of death caused by the coronavirus drop significantly for young people when compared to that of the elder population. What COVID-19 is doing to the next generation is making them stronger, more resilient.

If our job is to make disciples out of the next generation and it is, then perhaps COVID-19 can serve as a catalyst to get us thinking about how we as church leaders can make resilient disciples out of the next generation!

Much has already been written about this topic. In their book Faith For Exiles, David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock define resilient disciples as “followers of Jesus who attend and engage with church at least monthly, believe the authority of the Bible, have a personal commitment to Jesus and express the desire to impact society as a result of their faith.” According to their research, only 10 percent of Christian young adults fall into this category. The authors then list five best practices for cultivating this type of resiliency.

Rather than list all five of the best practices, I will let you buy the book and read them for yourself. I personally find that all of the practices are valuable. But it is the first practice that I want to concentrate on: “Clear religious clutter to experience intimacy with Jesus and form one’s godly identity.”

Now, going to church every Sunday morning isn’t what I would call religious clutter. But, it could easily become so if you allow church attendance to become your crutch. If you think attending church one Sunday a month makes you religious and right with God, I might question how resilient your faith really is. Going to church is a good thing and it is important but it is not what ultimately makes you right with God.

When we speak of being a resilient disciple, we are really speaking of one having a resilient faith. Barna president David Kinnaman in his book You Lost Me, published in 2011, stated that 59 percent of young adults with a Christian background had dropped out of church at some point during their 20’s—many for just a time, but some for good. Today, that number has risen to 64 percent. Over time, Barna’s data has shown that “it’s easy for young adults to call themselves Christian—but it is much less common for them to find their identity in Jesus.” Repeatedly, Barna’s research proves how easy it is for one to be a habitual churchgoer instead of a resilient disciple.

For right now, Sunday’s at church have been taken away from us. But resilient disciples are still finding a way to attend church. My guess is that the “habitual churchgoer” (as defined by Barna’s research) hasn’t made much effort to attend virtual, digital, or drive-in church services. For resilient disciples, attending a virtual church service is just scratching the surface. Resilient disciples are found participating and leading in online Bible studies, online giving, and on/off-line praying!

It is this last word that makes all the difference in whether the next generation is found having a resilient faith or not. Resilient disciples experience an intimacy with Jesus that is unmatched. This intimacy begins and ends with a daily ongoing real conversation and relationship encounter with a risen and living Savior. These type of disciples hear the Lord’s voice and respond appropriately. They find their identity in who the Lord of the Scriptures say they are and act upon His Word.

This term “resilient disciples” is starting to catch on so much that making resilient disciples is starting to become a movement. After all, the church needs more than 10 percent of the next generation to possess a resilient faith. I say making and raising up resilient disciples is becoming a movement because you can find a website and more designated solely to this cause: https://www.resilientdisciples.com/

The home page of this website states, “Amid times of change, chaos, and an uncertain future, we believe the church needs to refocus on relational, scriptural, and experiential child discipleship.” The website offers youth discipleship curriculum as well. An article on the website states,

“Every modern generation, or demographic cohort, has experienced critical events that marked them profoundly. The Greatest Generation (1910-1924) lived through the Great Depression and two World Wars, experiencing extreme economic and social turmoil. Their generational psyche was shaped by an ability to know how to survive, make do and solve problems. They were resourceful survivors who could pinch a penny like crazy. And yes, they were and are great!”

The title of the article was, “Then Came COVID-19 . . . And Then Came The Greatest Generation of Disciples.” I sure hope the author of the article is right! Let’s all do our part.